Too far to care

Still way out of synch. Haven't gotten to "Lost" yet, but I saw "Veronica Mars" last week at press tour.

The good:

• Rob and company faked me out on Veronica and Duncan's break-up. I should have seen that coming, since A)Veronica never acts that jealous and stupid, and B)Veronica is always 12 steps ahead of the plot, but they got me. Part of it is that I didn't notice the use of the Paula Cole theme from "Dawson's Creek" during one of her moping scenes; that should have tipped me off right away, since Rob used to write the mopey adventures of Dawson, Joey and Pacey.
  
• More Lamb. I just love this guy's smugness. Even when he's right (Veronica was pulling one over on the FBI), he's wrong (he never should've fallen for the ATM card scam).
  
• Lucy Lawless. Ever since she became an honorary TV critic for being the "date" of one of the critics at the TCA Awards a couple of years ago, and a tremendous good sport overall, I get excited whenever she pops up on TV, even in schlock horror like "Vampire Bats." So it's extra-cool to have her pop up on a good show, and in a good role. Rob Thomas told me that she was such a pro on the set that she actually gave several of her lines to the local actor who played her partner, because she felt he didn't have enough to do. Okay, so... gorgeous... talented... funny... a pleasure to work with... why doesn't she have another full-time job? (Of course, if she just wants to work occasionally while spending more time with Rob and the kids, I understand.
• Duncan's gone. Whether it was the writing or Teddy Dunn or both, the character was always a drag on the show, a blank slate who didn't seem nearly interesting enough for Veronica to be into -- especially when he turned cold and distant this year. The show's miniscule budget has meant that only Veronica, Keith and Logan can appear in every episode. I'd rather have seen Duncan split town with his folks and spent his money on extra appearances for Wallace and/or Weevil. Hell, spend it on Dick and Beaver. (And not in that way.)
  
• Enrico Colantoni is so f'ing good. The scene where Keith tears into Veronica for lying to him was painful, both because of the performances and because the writers have spent so much time building up the trust between them.
  
• Not one, but two Old 97's songs ("Adelaide" and "Four Leaf Clover") on the soundtrack. Great, underappreciated band. And once again I ask, does anyone know where I can find a copy of their theme song to Showtime's "Going to California"?
  

The bad:

• Again, Duncan. I'm just so disinterested in him that I find it hard to get too worked up over his exit, or over Veronica's loneliness after the break-up.
  

The meh:

• Logan/Weevil. These guys play off each other so well that I almost don't mind the trouble I'm having following the Felix/Fitzpatricks storyline. Almost. More than anything else this season, I think this subplot is going to play much better on DVD, when the constant references to minor off-camera characters will be easier to follow.
  
• The near-total detour the show has taken from the bus crash mystery. I know you can't have every minute of every episode be about the crash, but even in the season one episodes that had very little to do with Lily Kane or the rape, you always got the sense that Veronica was working on both in the back of her mind. Now that the Meg/baby stuff is pretty much over, I look forward to getting back to the season's big piece of business.
  
• Wallace and LeBron James run over a homeless guy. Not enough in this episode for me to judge it one way or another. It's supposed to be a bigger plot point next time, so we'll see. More Wallace, though, is good.

Meanwhile, because the news editors who put my WB/UPN/CW on page one yesterday wanted a straight news story, I had to save the analysis, snark and predictions for today's column, the meat of which is my projected CW schedule. (And, for what it's worth, I ran it past someone who's going to work there and was told I wasn't very far off the mark.)

More after I've seen Charlie, Mr. Eko and company.